What Does A Scent Curator Do?

Stylish sisters Dawn and Samantha Goldworm have concocted custom scents for art museums, fashion shows and hotel lobbies. Here, they explain why the olfactory experience in a space is just as important as aesthetics

From scenting art fairs like The Armory Show and Design Miami to the runways of Jason Wu and Prabal Gurung to the lobbies of the Thompson Hotels and Zaha Hadid's under-construction Miami highrise, the Goldworm girls are crafting connections between brands and clientele through the most powerful link to emotion and memory.

ELLEDECOR.com: What does a scent say about your space?

12.29: Scent for a space is a very personal, curated decision. Just as important as your choice of furniture, art work and lighting, the scent creates a certain mood and ambience to further accentuate the feeling of your home.

ED: Beyond candles and incense, what are people now using to infuse their homes, businesses and events?

12.29: For businesses or events, we use commercial diffusers to scent spaces. Our machines, which atomize fragrance oil into gas, easily control the amount of scent in the space and work seamlessly with air systems already in place.

ED: What kind of effect can a scented space have on people?

12.29: Your brain processes smell in the same way that it processes emotion in your olfactive or smell memory. Therefore, every smell you can recall, is directly associated with a feeling or emotional memory. Walking into a scented space, can have two effects: if the space smells familiar, it can conjure up old memories and bring nostalgia from a past experience or if the space smells entirely new, it can create intrigue into a new adventure.

12.29: Finding your signature scent takes time and perseverance. Unlike our other senses, our olfactive sense is not connected to the part of the brain that processes language so we have a difficult time communicating what we like and do not like when it comes to choosing a perfume. It is easier to speak through color or emotion when looking for a new scent. When you smell, try visualizing the scent in your mind and focusing on your feeling about the scent. This will help lead your nose until you find your signature.

ED: Do you consider scent to be a décor element to a space?

12.29: Scent is just as important in a space as aesthetics. It assists in bringing together all of the design elements to create a complete experience. Without it, there is definitely something missing.

ED: You've scented many fashion shows, how does the scent further convey a theme or style of the collection to show attendees?

12.29: The scent designed for a fashion show is done to further communicate the designer's vision for the season through smell. Depending on the show, we focus on highlighting various elements of the collection to accentuate through the scent. For instance, for Thakoon's SS12 show in the Plaza Ballroom, the designer envisioned a cowboy in a Western Saloon contrasted with the spices of India. The scent helped further communicate this vision through the smell of worn-in leather cowboy boots, peanut shells, fresh tobacco and humid earth juxtaposed with the many spices of India—cumin, cardamom, clove, pepper and incense. Opening Ceremony's AW14 show, was focused on Belgium for the season. The designers had a wall of chocolate constructed to drink behind the models as they paraded down the runway. We designed the smell of chocolate and musk to create the smell of a piece of chocolate with a fingerprint on it, a manufactured smell with the texture of nature.

ED: What's your advice for people in search of a scent for their home? How can you find a balanced scent that's not overwhelming and headache-inducing?

12.29: Your scent should work with and compliment all of the existing smells in your space. You would not choose one piece of furniture without considering the other furniture in the space. Your scent is the same. Your cleaning products should be taken into consideration as should your cat or dog, if you have one, as well as children smells and other perfumed products. If you are an avid cook, this should also be considered. To find the scent for your home, I would first consider how you want your home to feel—relaxing, stimulating, sexy, energizing. If your aim is relaxation, look for scents that are warm and inviting, like vanilla and woods. If you prefer a stimulating environment, try green notes like grass, fig or black currant.

If sexy is more your vibe, try amber, leather or musk. Or if your prefer to be energized, go for citrus notes and bright fruits.

ED: What projects are you working on now?

12.29:We just completed a custom scent for the One Thousand Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects. Their custom scent is currently diffused in the sales center and will move to the lobby once the building opens in 2016. The scent is wet and fresh with notes of calone and salicylate representing the high gloss black and platinum white colors of the project.